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Allison Family
The Allisons are one of American auto racing's most famous families. Brothers Bobby and Donnie and Bobby's son, Davey, all
had successful careers with the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The Allison family was originally 
Bobby Allison was born on December 3, 1937, and his younger brother Donnie was born on September 7, 1939 in Miami, Florida, to Edmund and Katherine Patton Allison; the brothers were two of 13 siblings, only eight of whom lived to adulthood. The brothers grew up and went to high school in Miami and began racing on tracks in south Florida, particularly at the now defunct Hialeah and Hollywood Speedways. Bobby Allison met his wife Judy in the late 1950s; they were married in 1960 and had two daughters, Bonnie (born in 1961) and Carrie (born in 1967), in addition to two sons, Clifford and Davey.
Their quest for better prize money and for more racing opportunities lured the Allison brothers to Alabama in the early 1960s. The Allisons raced modified stock cars at famed Alabama tracks such as Dixie (Midfield) Speedway and Montgomery Speedway. Before permanently settling in Alabama, the brothers would return to Florida to race in the winter months. Eventually, they set up shop in the racing hotbed of Hueytown with fellow Miami-based driver Red Farmer. The trio became known as the "Alabama Gang," which would later also include Hueytown residents Neil Bonnett, David Bonnett, and Hut Stricklin, who married Donnie Allison's daughter.
In Alabama, Bobby scored one win at both Birmingham International Speedway in 1967 and Montgomery Speedway in 1969 and had 4 victories at Alabama International Speedway in Talladega. Bobby's last race came on June 19, 1988, when he suffered life-threatening and career-ending injuries during a 500-mile event at Pocono Speedway in Pennsylvania. By the end of his driving career, Bobby had amassed 84 official career victories and 58 official pole positions in NASCAR's top division. Bobby was a full-time Winston Cup car owner from 1990 through 1996. Alabama driver Hut Stricklin drove the #12 car for Bobby's team from 1990 through 1992. Bobby was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, the Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993.
The Allison family is perhaps best remembered nationally for a race that neither brother won. The 1979 Daytona 500 was the
first NASCAR race to be televised live in its entirety. In the 
The Allisons also competed in a handful of United States Auto Club-sanctioned Indy car races during their careers, and both raced in a pair of Indianapolis 500s. Donnie fared better between the two brothers; he finished fourth in 1970 and posted a sixth-place finish in 1971 while driving for A. J. Foyt.
Two of Bobby's sons met with tragic ends. Clifford, born on October 20, 1964, as the third of four children, was an up-and-coming driver whose life was cut short in a crash during a practice run for a NASCAR Busch Series event at Michigan International Speedway on August 13, 1992. Clifford had won the Montgomery International Speedway Championship in 1987. Bobby's eldest son, Davey, also died after a brief racing career. Born on February 25, 1961, in Hollywood, Florida, Davey began racing in the NASCAR Winston Cup division in 1985, winning his first Winston Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway on May 3, 1987. He won four more races that season and was Rookie of the Year. Davey and Bobby had the opportunity to race each other for a short period of time, most notably when they finished first and second in the Daytona 500 in 1988. Davey won the 1992 Daytona 500. On July 13, 1994, Davey died from injuries he sustained the day after the helicopter he was piloting crashed in the Talladega infield. Red Farmer was also injured in the crash but survived. Davey had 19 career victories, 3 of which came at Talladega. He also had 14 pole positions in 191 Winston Cup races. Davey was inducted posthumously into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on February 25, 1995, what would have been his 34th birthday. He was also inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1998.
As a stock car owner after his retirement from racing, Bobby Allison enjoyed only mixed success. Although Hut Stricklin drove
for Bobby Allison Motorsports from 1990 to 1992, the team failed to secure a driver for more than a couple seasons at a time.
The team also struggled to secure consistent sponsorship throughout its existence, resulting in well-publicized financial
difficulties that forced Bobby Allison Motorsports to shut down in 1996. He occasionally serves as a commercial spokesman
and has appeared in rail-crossing safety commercials for CSX Corporation.
Additional Resources
Bolton, Clyde. "From Hialeah to Hueytown." Stock Car Racing (December 1969): 30-33.
Bourcier, Bones. "Donnie Allison: In His Own Words." Speedway Illustrated (July 2000): 24-25.
Golenbock, Peter, and Greg Fielden. Stock Car Racing Encyclopedia. New York: Macmillan, 1997.
———. Miracle! Bobby Allison and the Saga of the Alabama Gang. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2006.
Phillips, Benny. "One Tough—but Classy—Character." Stock Car Racing (January 2006): 88-91.
Daniel J. Simone
University of Florida
Published May 14, 2009
Last updated November 9, 2009
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